ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) on Sunday accused a part of its 30th Brigade of having  “failed to implement all necessary preventative measures” ahead of deadly US-Saudi strikes late last month, adding that a probe has been launched to ensure accountability for those responsible.

On July 29, US and Saudi forces launched coordinated attacks on bases of the state-integrated but Iran-backed PMF across several Iraqi provinces, killing at least 20 PMF members, in response to alleged attacks on Saudi oil facilities in the preceding days at the behest of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“The 4th Regiment of the 30th Brigade failed to implement all necessary preventative measures, resulting in the martyrdom of the majority of its members during the attacks,” the PMF said in a statement, adding that a probe has been launched to “determine the circumstances of this negligence and assign responsibility.”

The 30th brigade, known as Hashd al-Shabak, is a paramilitary unit operating mainly in northern Iraq’s Nineveh Plains. It has functioned as a local support unit linked to the Badr Organization, according to the Washington Institute. It is headquartered in the town of Bartella in the Nineveh Plains.  

The PMF said “it has kept all its forces on high alert” since hostilities restarted between the US and Iran in late February and that “two days prior to the attack, all units were instructed to exercise maximum caution, which helped prevent significant bloodshed and minimize losses.”

On Friday, Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Iran-backed Badr Organization, urged Islamic Resistance groups to “postpone” any planned retaliatory action against the deadly US-Saudi strike on Iraq “for the sake of Iraq’s higher interest.”

In an interview with Iraqi state media a day after the US-Saudi attack, Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said the Saudi claims of Iran-aligned groups targeting Saudi oil facilities from Iraqi territory “were not proven true” by the investigative committees formed to probe the incident.

Iran-backed Iraqi factions have claimed responsibility for several attacks on US interests in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including the US Embassy in Baghdad, the Consulate General in Erbil, and American military bases.

The US has responded to the attacks by targeting the Iran-aligned groups, which include many factions that are incorporated into the Iraqi state security apparatus as part of the PMF.